Perhaps I should have saved this title for a post on the 4th of July, but it seems more appropriate now. For you see, on Tuesday afternoon, around 5:00 p.m., we reached the west coast and the Pacific Ocean. We traveled almost 4,500 miles from the time we left the Atlantic Ocean in Nags Head, North Carolina, until pulling into our campground at the Hobson Beach Park in Ventura, California.
On the way to Ventura, we stopped to get groceries at a Walmart at Santa Clarita. We were fortunate that there was a laundromat about 5 minutes from Walmart, so we decided we better wash the layer of desert dust from our bedding. The “Laundry Center” was huge. It had about 75 washing machines, and probably 50 dryers. There were three flat screen TVs scattered throughout, vending machines, tables for folding laundry, and tables and benches to sit at while your laundry is running. In a classic Beverly Hillbilly’s moment, Beth and I carried our bread, lunchmeat, and condiments into the Laundry Center and had ourselves quite the picnic among the other patrons patiently waiting for their clothes to finish. I have to admit, I was a bit self-conscious, but then I realized these people don’t know me and will never see me again, so I just enjoyed my turkey sandwich.
The Hobson Beach campground consists of about 35 spaces all tucked tightly into a rather small area with amazing views of the Pacific. Our site was protected from the ocean by a wall of large boulders which shielded our tent from the raging waves on the other side. We were literally 25 feet from the ocean. The sun was shining brightly and the sky was a beautiful shade of blue. We almost felt like we were home, until I noticed the Tsunami Zone warning sign near the steps leading to the beach. We don’t see that in Nags Head, that’s for sure.
We set up our tent, which we may name “Old Faithful” given its ability to stand up to all of the forces that nature has thrown our way, and sat to relax a bit before supper. We knew it was going to be a good night’s sleep because the overnight low was to be in the mid fifties, and we would be lulled to sleep by the sound of the ocean crashing on the rocks. We were amazed that it was going to be almost over 40 degrees cooler overnight than our first night in Death Valley. We did sleep well.
Our adventure on Wednesday was a trip to Santa Cruz Island, one of the four islands comprising the Channel Islands National Park. Santa Cruz is about a one hour ferry ride from Ventura Harbor. We boarded the boat around 8:00 a.m. and began the western cruise to Santa Cruz.
The ferry was quite crowded and we made room for two young ladies to sit with us. It turned out they were on a day pass from their jobs on the USS Carl Vinson, a Nimitz-class Navy aircraft carrier stationed in San Diego. We enjoyed talking with them during the ride to the island. We also kidded them about not getting seasick since they work on a ship.
I don’t typically have a problem with motion sickness, but about 15 minutes into the voyage, I started to get a bit uncomfortable. We were sitting near the front of the boat and the waves were making it rock up and down quite a bit. The longer we went, the more uncomfortable I became. I turned to Beth and said that I was getting clammy and not feeling so well. Beth was absolutely fine. It was quite ironic, because she is the one who historically has been prone to motion sickness, but she was as solid as a rock during the crossing, even enjoying a granola bar. Thank God, I was able to make it to Santa Cruz without any embarassing incidents, but I was not looking forward to the return trip later in the afternoon.
Happy to have reached the island, we walked down the pier to begin exploring a part of our 10th National Park. It was a very foggy start to the day and the mountains all around were shrouded in mist. It could have been a scene from a King Kong movie. It was also quite cool, about 55 degrees. Our bodies were definitely having a problem adjusting to temperatures 40 to 50 degrees cooler than we had experienced over the past 2 weeks.
There are only 3 or 4 park rangers on Santa Cruz, and none happened to be in the small visitor center when we arrived. We walked for a few hundred yards and found a young lady named Jo who was working at a kayak rental kiosk. She recommended we hike the Potato Harbor Overlook trail, a 4.5 mile hike that provided great views of the shoreline and harbor below. She provided us a trail map and wished us well, and off we went.
The trail started with a steep ascent and with each few steps, more and more of the valley below came into view. It was full of color. There were various shades of green grasses and shrubs, yellow, pink and even some red flowering plants with the rock walls of the mountains providing a stark contrast to the vegetation. The hills and valley really put us in mind of images we’ve seen of Ireland. We could visualize sheep roaming the hills and I was tempted to adopt an Irish accent for the day, but decided against it.
Beth was having a great time taking pictures. She was doing a great job capturing the beauty all around us. I am so happy she has a nice camera to use on this trip, and she sure is making the most of it.
We meandered up the mountain and the trail finally ended at the location from which it gets its name, the Potato Harbor. 800 feet below was the aqua blue waters of the sheltered harbor surrounded by light colored rock walls. We spent about 45 minutes at the overlook, enjoying not only the view, but an early lunch as well. I figured it best to eat early to give my food more time to digest before beginning the return boat ride to Ventura. The whole time we were there, we saw only three other people, and had the place mostly to ourselves.
As we were about to head back down the mountain, we heard voices approaching. A look back at the trail revealed the source of the voices – about 50 to 75 school students were heading our way. We were fortunate to have been ahead of this group, as they were quite excited and loud. One of their chaperones told us it was an AP biology class on a field trip. Wow, we thought, that sure beats the circus!
Shortly after passing the school kids, we passed Bill and Barbara Hartman, a couple who noticed my Penn State hoodie and stopped to talk with us. They are from the Philadelphia area and were enjoying a vacation out west. They said our trip is something they would like to do when they retire, and we encouraged them to do so, with a camper van.
It took us a total of almost three and a half hours to complete our hike, including our lunch break and picture taking. The fog and clouds never lifted and the temperature never reached 60 degrees, but it was still a gorgeous day in the park.
When we reached the bottom of the trail we were delighted to see a couple of foxes scurrying around the campground. The foxes are apparently native to the island and are about half the size of a normal fox. They also have an unusual bark. The scene added to a fascinating day.
As our time on Santa Cruz island drew to a close, we headed back to the pier for our 4:00 return trip. We sat at the back of the boat on the way home, and invited the two sailors to join us, which they did. We talked the whole way back, asking question after question about life aboard an aircraft carrier. I didn’t have a problem with sea sickness in the least. It was a great way to end the day.
We showered when we got back to the campground, $1.75 for seven and a half minutes. I used every last second. With clean bodies and clean bedding, we settled in for another night, lulled to sleep by the sound of the Pacific out our tent windows.
We leave in the morning for Pinnacles National Park as our tour of the California parks continues. We hope you are all well.